Jaiprakash Associates soars after announcing revised deal for selling some cement units to UltraTech

Jaiprakash Associates rose 18.83% to Rs 10.79 at 9:53 IST on BSE after the company said it sold its cement plants spread across five states to UltraTech Cement for enterprise value of Rs 16189 crore.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 4 July 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 20.24 points, or 0.07%, to 27,258.52.

On BSE, so far 1.24 crore shares were traded in the counter compared with average daily volume of 53.35 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 11.17 and a low of Rs 9.80 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 14.90 on 16 October 2015. The stock hit a record low of Rs 5.30 on 2 June 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 4 July 2016, rising 61.85% compared with 1.62% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 15.08% as against Sensex's 9.63% rise.

The small-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 486.49 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The board of directors of Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) approved an amendment to the definitive agreement dated 31 March 2016 and also the draft scheme of arrangement with UltraTech Cement (UTCL) for sale of cement business of JAL and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jaypee Cement Corporation (JCCL). JAL and JCCL will together sell identified operating cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 17.20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh and a cement grinding unit of 4 MTPA capacity which is currently under implementation in Uttar Pradesh. An additional amount of Rs 470 crore will be paid by UTCL to JAL for completion of the grinding unit under implementation.

The transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals including the approval of stock exchanges, Competition Commission of India, financial institutions and banks, shareholders and creditors and sanction of the scheme of arrangement by High Courts at Mumbai and Allahabad. The consummation of the transaction is expected to take 9 to 12 months.

Commenting on the divestment, Manoj Gaur, executive chairman, Jaypee Group said that the Jaypee Group is determined to reduce its overall debt through its proactive divestment initiatives to help the Group tide these current turbulent times caused by economic slowdown in the country. He added that post this deal, Jaypee Group will retain an aggregate cement manufacturing capacity of 10.60 MTPA with plants spread in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The Group would continue to leverage expertise in the fields of engineering & construction, real estate and project execution in a committed manner.

Shares of UTCL were up 0.33% at Rs 3,422.05. After the consummation, UTCL's cement capacity will stand augmented to 91.1 MTPA, including its overseas operations.

Jaiprakash Associates reported net loss of Rs 1387.30 crore in Q4 March 2016, higher than net loss of Rs 858.07 crore in Q4 March 2015. Net sales declined 25.69% to Rs 1893.94 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015.

Jaiprakash Associates is the flagship company of the Jaypee group and is engaged in engineering and construction, cement, real estate and hospitality businesses.

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